Tag: Spreadsheets

A Real-Life Excel Test from a Job Interview: Can You Pass??

Feb 18th, 2020 / Data Analysis

Ten year ago, I was interviewing for an analyst position and I’d sat in the interviewer’s office going on and on about all my great spreadsheet skills. And then the interviewer was like, “Prove it. Come with me.” I was then led to an office with a computer that had an Excel test just waiting for me. My heart just about stopped– what did I say I knew how to do again?? Spoiler alert: I got the job but fast forward ten years later- can I still pass that Excel test today?

How to Add Dotted Lines to Line Graphs in Microsoft Excel

Nov 12th, 2019 / Data Visualization

What to do if you’re missing chronological data? Learn how to represent the missing data by turning solid lines into dotted lines.

How to Explore Your Spreadsheets with Miniature At-a-Glance Graphs

May 1st, 2018 / Dashboards, Data Analysis, Data Visualization

I worked in several university research centers before transitioning to applied settings and learned data analysis and data visualization as two distinct phases. But nowadays I mix and mingle them a lot. My favorite exploratory visualization techniques are sparklines and data bars. I use these techniques daily, and I want to share them with you, too.

Simple Spreadsheets: From Spreadsheet Stress to Superstardom in 12 Weeks

Apr 24th, 2018 / Data Analysis

This is one of the happiest days of my career. I’ve been running my own data design company for four years. And for four years, I’ve been itching to build online courses which I haven’t been able to do… until now! I’m launching Simple Spreadsheets: From Spreadsheet Stress to Superstardom in 12 Weeks, a course all about data analysis time-savers

How to Categorize Values in Your Dataset with If and Vlookup in Microsoft Excel

Apr 17th, 2018 / Data Analysis

The raw dataset you’re given is rarely the one you actually want for your analyses. Clean, re-code, and re-categorize until you’ve got the groupings you need. I like to recode my data with two techniques: =IF() and =VLOOKUP().

How to Save Time and Energy by Analyzing Your Data with Pivot Tables in Microsoft Excel

Jul 19th, 2016 / Data Analysis

Pivot tables are the fastest, easiest way to make sense of your data, and they’re easier than you think. In this post, I’ll show you how to insert a pivot table and then drag and drop variables to find patterns in your spreadsheet.

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